Look At Me Now

Chapter 16

When I woke up this time things were different. I wasn't wearing my boots or my jeans. My hands were bound behind my back, to the chair. My feet were tightly tied to each leg of the chair. The rope tore at my skin as I tried to wiggle them out. This time I was stuck.

Paul was standing at the other side of the room, glaring at me. There was a fierceness in his gaze that told me I wasn't getting out of this unscathed. "Good, you're awake."

"Where—"

"No," he cut me off harshly. "Your time to ask questions is over." He walked to me and grasped my jaw in his hand, tilting my face up so I would meet his gaze. The harshness of his grip told me I would definitely have bruises. There was a knot on the top of his forehead...from me. "You're going to die. Don't worry, though, I'll be sure to make it slow and painful. At first I was going to be quick with it—before you chose to try and escape. You're the first to do that you know. You're smart. But Kale knew that when he met you—I knew it when I saw you at that stupid party. It was obvious. Oh! We found your brother, by the way."

A chill ran through my bones. He let go of my face and took a step back, peering at me. "No one is coming to save you, Evie. When the cops questioned Kale—at your brother's insistence—he told them he hadn't seen hide or hair of you. I backed him on that—of course. He was back at the house with me. You see, Eve, around here it's all about who you know. And I know everybody." He gave me a slow and menacing grin. "I've got to admit your brother can fight. Too bad there was more than just one on my end. What can I say? I play dirty." He tugged at his shirt which was spattered with blood, something I hadn't noticed before. "You see this?" he asked. "This is his."

I felt something twist inside of me. "Tell me, Evie, do you know someone named Avia?" I felt myself pale. "Yeah well I do. Not personally or anything but Kale told me about her. Apparently Avia was kidnapped by a kid at your school, found dead a while later, no trace of the guy. Isn't that something?" There was something in his voice that I couldn't decipher. "Then Kale comes home one day and talks about you. He says you are a spitting image of Avia, with the exception of that red hair and those brown eyes—oh wait, no, brown contacts." He reached into his pocket and held the two out towards me. My eyes widened. How did he...? "So, Miss Avia Jensen, do you want to tell me the truth? Or do I need to provide a bit of incentive?" His eyes were dark. "Ah what the hell? I've already brought him here I might as well use him. Kale! Bring him down!"

Kale stumbled down the steps holding another against him, a knife at the throat of my brother. "Kyle!" I gasped. No, no, no, no, no. Gabriel, I could use Gabriel here. I knew Gabriel could keep himself safe but Kyle?

Kale shoved him in another chair that sat across from me, closer to the stairs. "Avia?" Kyle's eyes were wide when they met mine. "No, you're dead." There were tears building in them.

"Oh the contrary, my good sir," Paul said, amusement in his tone. "Turns out Avia has been lying to us. How rude of her."

"Tell us the truth," Kale held a knife to Kyle's throat, his eyes narrowed.

My throat tightened. "I was kidnapped," I admitted. "I was taken to a place where they train killers." I couldn't tell them the full truth, I was going to have to pick through. "I've been in training for the last year. Gabriel is the one who's in charge of me. They sent me here to kill you two."

"So you're a hit-woman?" Paul asked.

"Something like that."

"What's it called? The place you were taken."

I thought quickly. "Assassin's Guild." I quickly realized how stupid it sounded.

Paul nodded. He believed me. "Stupid name," he commented. "So you're here to kill us?"

I nodded timidly.

"Well the tables have really turned here, huh? I bet they didn't think this would happen." They hadn't thought I would fuck it up. "So what are we going to do with you, Avia?"

"If you kill me they'll just send someone else after you." Reasoning was my next plan. This was true; they would definitely kill him if he killed me—especially if they killed Gabriel.

"Oh really?" he asked, confidence was clear in his tone. "And what makes you so special?"

"Nothing, but they don't like to let targets go."

"Well, that's too bad," Paul was full of more pride that one could think possible. "I'll just kill whoever else they send."

"They've got people so skilled you'd never see them coming," I replied. "I'm at the bottom of the food chain back there. The most skilled person could kill you with the blink of an eye." This of course wasn't as true as I made him believe. I wasn't necessarily at the bottom of the theoretical food chain but I wasn't at the top either. Gabriel was at the top—not on top but pretty close. He was brilliant at what he did. I'm the reason we got caught. Without me he'd already be back home with a 'job well done'.

Paul leaned closer to me. "I'm not scared."